Month: March 2009

>The Kiwassa Youth Garden is located at Chimo Terrace, a BC Housing site on Wall Street. A unique collaboration including BC Housing and the People, Plants and Homes Program, Kiwassa Neighbourhood House, who operate an after school care program at Chimo, The City of Vancouver GreenStreets program (the garden is actually on City land), The City of Vancouver Food Policy Office, which provided start up funds for the garden, the Environmental Youth Alliance, who will help to support the garden through hands on garden workshops, and ourselves the Grandview Woodlands Food Connection as project facilitators, all helped to establish the Garden.

Many teen and younger children live at Chimo Terrace and it was decided that the garden would be a communal children and youth garden. Five different programs will be involved in the garden.

The site may have originally been a playground. More recently, attempts to create a garden are evident though we found the site to be largely overgrown and littered with garbage. It seemed like a great opportunity to revive the garden.

In mid February we organized a cleanup. About 15 youth and children came out to help along with a few older volunteers. The City provided support to haul away the yard waste. The site was cleared and ready for boxes. 5 boxes were built, a few benches made, and compost and soil was spread out in preparation for our opening ceremony.

Cease Wyss from the Squamish Nation was invited to bless the garden. Liz from the Environmental Youth Alliance led a short discussion and planting with some of the youth. The youth are very excited about the garden and have already been working on some birdhouses and mosaic stepping stones.

It is an exciting project and we all look forward to see how the garden grows.

These comments were written down on an interactive board that was set up at the East End Food Co-op. Add what you are doing in the comments below and we will add your ideas to our list.

• Our front lawn is now a groovy garden• I learned to winter garden (and I am learning with you ….XO Donna)• Grew Tomatoes in the living room• Buy local as much as possible• No patented food• Pick apples from street trees and make my own applesauce and pies• Convert food producers into co-ops• I eet dirt• Grow your own food• I grew my own vegetables, including lots of weird exotic stuff like kiwis for the last 4 years• Take care of what you’ve got• Buy local from small businesses• I am going to make my own basmati rice milk• Buy local as much as possible. Grow what I can. Arugula is easy and grows all winter• I have canning parties with homegrown, not bought vegetables and fruits in the fall• Fight to save the ALR• Save UBC Farm• I support local farmers, particularly if they go organic• Get rid of your lawn. Grow vegetables• Community gardening• I don’t support a neo-conservative ideology• I am an organic farmer in the Fraser Valley• Buy at the food co-op• Eat vegetarian and local• My garden chard is still green, growing, and tasty• Trying to promote lasagna gardening in my co-op instead of seeding grass• Restore canneries in BC so we don’t have to ship to the US and then import again• Have fruit bushes in pots since my backyard is a cement slab• Love

Contact

Email: gwfcnetwork@gmail.com

Tel: 604-718-5895

Honoring Coast Salish Lands and Water

We recognize that we live and work on unceded Coast Salish land and serve many Indigenous communities who live in our neighbourhood. We believe that those of us who are settlers on this land have a deep responsibility to address colonial systems of power and oppression, most importantly as they impact Indigenous people and their food systems today. It is through this understanding that we are working to develop a decolonization framework through which all our future programs will be planned and implemented.